Spring garlic: planting and care

Experienced agronomists claim that the best predecessors for spring garlic varieties are legumes (soybeans, peas, beans, and lentils). Garlic also responds well to plots of land where forage grasses were grown in the fall—alfalfa and clover, which are excellent green manure crops that structure the soil and enrich it with beneficial nutrients.

 

It's not recommended to plant garlic beds after tomatoes, potatoes, or onions, as they can be susceptible to common infections and increased attacks by garlic pests. Carrots and beets significantly deplete the topsoil, so it's best not to plant garlic beds in areas where they grew last season.
Planting material

 

Garlic heads are separated into individual cloves, removing any damaged, cracked, or rotten ones. Cloves that are fused together or have two tips are a sign of a degenerated variety. It's essential to calibrate the cloves according to size. Seeds of varying sizes are planted in separate beds.

 

Before sowing, it's advisable to disinfect planting material in a solution of table salt, copper sulfate, potassium permanganate, or lye ash. This significantly reduces the risk of infectious plant diseases.

 

Spring garlic: planting and care

Depending on spring weather conditions, spring varieties are planted in late April, approximately between the 19th and 26th. Beds for spring garlic are created in sunny, dry areas of the garden with fertile soil that has been fertilized with organic matter in the fall.

 

The optimal height for a garlic bed is 10-15 cm, and the width should be no more than a meter. Cloves are planted at a depth of 6-8 cm (depending on the variety and size), ensuring that the top of the clove is no more than 2.5-3 cm from the ground surface. Planting deeper delays ripening by several weeks, as the vegetation process slows down.

 

Avoid pressing the cloves into the soil, as this compacts the soil and slows root development. Place the cloves in the soil upside down (vertically) or lay them on their sides (horizontally). Plant garlic in well-moistened soil. Space the cloves, bulblets, or single cloves at least 7 cm apart, and space rows approximately 20-24 cm apart.

 

Caring for spring garlic

After the first green shoots appear, be sure to fertilize the plants. For this purpose, use nitrogen fertilizers, such as a urea solution (15 ml per bucket of water). It's also advisable to add a cup of mullein to the same substrate. Apply the fertilizer at a rate of 3 liters of irrigation solution per square meter. Repeat fertilizing after 9-10 days.

 

It's important to keep the soil in your garlic beds moist at all times. This is especially important during the early growing season (May-June), when the garlic heads are forming. To achieve this, water regularly, at least twice a week.

 

Harvesting spring garlic

When the lower leaves begin to dry out en masse and the upper leaves turn yellow and fall over, this will be a signal to harvest. Spring garlic is typically dug up in late August, but depending on the summer's conditions, harvesting can take as long as September 10th.

 

Harvested garlic is dried directly in the garden bed (weather permitting). Drying time is about a week. If it rains, the garlic is moved indoors. Only after the garlic has dried thoroughly are the stems trimmed. Unless you plan to braid the garlic for storage, the remaining stem length should not exceed 5 cm. Then, the garlic is moved indoors and left to dry for another 2-3 weeks.

 

Spring garlic is stored throughout the winter using either a warm (17-18°C) or cold (1-3°C) method. For cold storage, garlic is placed in wooden boxes in a cellar, while for warm storage, it is stored in a dry basement or in an apartment (house).

 

We've talked about garlic, now let's find out, How to plant potatoes under straw.